Want a more classic look to go with the tan wall tires & real leather saddle on your gravel or all-road bike? Salsa just dropped a new shiny silver option onto their popular Cowbell & Cowchipper flared road bike drop bars, and teased more good shiny things to come…
Salsa Cowbell & Cowchipper Deluxe drop bars, now in silver!
There’s not really any shortage of available dropbar options for gravel bikes these days. Tons of companies offer so many varieties that you pretty much can pick the exact reach, drop, flare & width that you want, and still have plenty of choices from affordable alloy to premium lightweight carbon. But as more and more gravel, all-road, and even traditional road bikes get built up with tanwall tires, natural leather saddles, and maybe even matching leather bartape, there are much more limited options for classic silver cockpits. So, Salsa is getting into the shiny silver racket, starting with Deluxe Silver versions of their most popular Cowbell & Cowchipper road handlebars.
Cowbell Deluxe Silver road handlebar
The Cowbell is their most conventional dropbar, with just a small 12° of flare to the drops and a compact bend (68mm reach & 115mm drop). The new silver bar is made with the same 7050-T6 alloy as the black Deluxe, just silver anodized instead of black – a satin bead-blasted finish under the tape and a polished look up top, just like the black bar. The bar gets a 31.8mm clamping area, weighs 281g (size 44), and come in the same 38, 40, 42, 44 & 46cm widths as the black version. Retail price is expected to be unchanged at $75.
Cowchipper Deluxe Silver handlebar
The Cowchipper is a bit more of an alt bar, doubling up to 24° flare and the same compact bend. Salsa aims the Cowchipper a bit more off-road, in between the Cowbell & the outswept drops of the even more flared Woodchipper.
The silver Cowchipper is also made from 7050-T6 alloy like its black Deluxe counterpart, with a satin bead-blasted silver finish & polished look up top. It & the Cowbell both get a 120mm wide 31.8mm clamping area to make it possible to use clip-on aero bars of lots of accessory mounts. The 293g Cowchipper (size 44) comes in 38, 40, 42, 44 & 46cm widths, and also should retain for $75.
Because of their flare, both Cowbell & Cowchipper widths are measured center-to-center at the location of their hoods (where marks are printed to ease setup.) Both bars should become available starting now from regular Salsa retail channels.
Beyond adding the Deluxe Silver option to these two bars, Salsa has also hinted that we should “stay tuned” for matching stems & seatposts that are likely already in the works to complete your classy cockpit setup. We wouldn’t be surprised to see a Guide stem & Guide Deluxe seatpost get the same silver ano treatment too for a complete matching Salsa cockpit. Stay tuned.
